


I Promise

by Seroia45



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canonical Character Death, Connor is a Good Boy, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hank needs a Hug, but mostly I was just going for feels, can be shippy or not, cole deserved better
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-21
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2019-06-30 19:04:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15757833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seroia45/pseuds/Seroia45
Summary: Hank would never intentionally lie to Cole. And never, in any possible universe, would he intentionally break a promise he made to his little boy.





	I Promise

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fanfiction I've written in years. Any helpful feedback or criticism would be much appreciated. ^-^  
> This is also crossposted on tumblr under my friends username, but marked as mine. It can be found here -> http://noonewouldlisten25.tumblr.com/post/177038270315/i-promise
> 
> If you find any errors, please tell me :)

It was Cole’s first day of Kindergarten. Hank’s hair was thrown up into a messy bun, and he was hurriedly trying to wrangle his five-year-old into something more presentable than his pajama’s. Cole, in his excitement and paranoia, had already spilled his orange juice twice, gotten frustrated with his clumsiness, and loudly declared that he was NOT going to school today. 

  
“Cole, you’re going to school today. It’s your first day! There’s no way you can miss your first day of school, buddy!” Hank was exasperated, but he understood that his little boy was not exactly the most social of butterflies. Cole looked up at him, his big brown eyes full of nervousness. 

  
“But Daddy, what if the other kids don’t like me? What if I do something silly and everyone makes fun of me?” The gap in his teeth made his speech slightly lisped, but Hank understood him just fine. He crouched down to eye level with Cole, smiled gently, and ruffled up his hair. 

  
“There’s no way that the other kids wont like you, Bud. You’re the sweetest, funniest, most handsomest boy your age! There’ll be boys and girls begging to be your friend!”  
  


Cole looked up at his dad in exaggerated exasperation. “Daaaad, you’re just saying that cause you have to..”

  
Hank grinned widely. “Would I ever lie to you?” 

  
The young boy paused a moment and considered the question. “No, I guess not.”

  
Hank beamed and scooped his son into a hug. “See? You’ve got nothin’ to worry about!”

  
Cole looked up at him with a timid little smile. “Promise?”  
  


Hank kissed his nose. “I promise.”

 

  
—  
At the sound of crying, Hank rushed into Cole’s room. His hair was disheveled from where he had fallen asleep on the couch after tucking his boy into bed, and his shirt was covered in dog fur from cuddling a Saint Bernard puppy they had picked up that evening. Cole, the silly boy, had decided to name him Sumo.

  
Cole was sitting awake in his bed when Hank came in, tears streaming down his face and trembling with the force of his soft sobs. The poor boy was prone to nightmares, and this was no new scenario for Hank to walk in on. He walked over to his son’s bed and sat down, pulling the boy into a comforting hug. 

“Nightmares again?” he asked, gently rocking the distraught child. Cole looked up at him, the tears in his eyes making his eyes shinier than they normally were. He nodded softly and buried his face in his father’s chest. Hank gently stroked his hair. “Do you want to talk about it? It might make you feel better.”

  
Cole sniffled quietly and looked up at him, his bottom lip quivering softly as he tried to speak. “It w-was cold, and I c-c-couldn’t find you anywhere… I was lost, and I was scared..” 

  
Hank held his son closer and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead. “It was just a scary dream, buddy. I’m right here, and I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  
The boy in his arms hiccupped softly, “P-Promise?”

 

“I promise.”

 

  
—  
The smell of antiseptic and the bright white walls were making Hank nauseous. He couldn’t get the noise of the truck slamming into his car out of his head. Couldn’t get the sound of his baby boy crying out of his head. The snow had been stained crimson, and that was all he could see projected on the hospital walls. The android in charge of overseeing his son’s operation walked out, looking grim. 

  
“Mr. Anderson?”  
  


Hank’s stomach dropped into the soles of his shoes. He knew that voice. He’s a cop. He’s had to use that voice on several occasions. That’s the voice of someone tasked with delivering bad news. The kind of news no one wants to give, and the kind of news that no one wanted to hear. “Cole’s not going to make it. Is he.”  
  


The android gave him a sympathetic look and set a gentle hand on his arm. “He’s lost too much blood, and the nearest donor is two cities away. He wouldn’t survive the trip over. All we can do now is make him comfortable. He’s awake and asking for you. I’m sorry.”  
  


Hank had tunnel vision as he walked into his little boy’s hospital room. Cole looked so frail and small against the sheets. He barely looked up as his father entered his room. Hank felt hot tears sting his eyes and forced a smile onto his face. “Hey there, bud.”  
  


“I’m cold, Daddy. I’m cold and tired.” His voice was weaker than he looked, and Hank could feel his heart breaking into smaller and smaller pieces. He laid down and cuddled his baby as close to him as he could without jostling any of the many things he was hooked up to.   
  


“I’m here, Cole. I’m right here, and I’m not gonna let you go. Daddy’s gonna keep you safe, just like he promised.”  
  


“I’m so tired, Daddy..” Cole was already fighting to keep his eyes open, and Hank didn’t want to let him see him break down. He pressed a soft kiss to his hair.   
  


“It’s alright, buddy. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll.. I’ll be right here when you wake up.”  
  


“Promise?”  
  


“I promise…”  
  


“Okay.. Night night, Daddy.. I’ll see you in the morning..”  
  


“G’night baby… I love you, so much.”  
  


It took three different androids to get Hank to let the coroner take Cole away.

 

  
—  
It was raining, but Hank didn’t care. He was sitting in the grass, a bottle of jack in his hand. One year. It had already been a whole year since he had to bury his baby boy. He felt the alcohol sting his throat, raw from screaming and cursing at any deity that would listen. Sumo, the poor thing, had tucked his tail between his legs and hid under the couch. His human hadn’t had an outburst like this since the day the little human didn’t come back. Once the screaming stopped, Sumo had hesitantly crept up and nuzzled up to his human. He didn’t understand why, but he knew his human was hurting, and he wanted to help as much as he could. Hank had buried his face in the dog’s fur and cried until he just felt numb. 

  
“I miss you, buddy. The house is too quiet without you. Haven’t had the heart to go into your room since that day.” He dragged his arm over his eyes, wiping away the moisture that was beginning to gather there. “Sumo misses you too. He sniffs at your door and stares at it, like he’s waiting for you to walk out and play with him again. Some days, he’ll sit there for hours. Then he’ll jump up and just stare at your door for a few minutes, and I catch myself thinking that you’re gonna come out. Sometimes.. Sometimes I forget that you’re gone. Went to pick you up from school the other day. Made it all the way there before I remembered.”  
  


He took another long pull from the bottle in his hand and made to stand up. He rested his hand on the marble in front of him and let the tears fall down his face.  
“I’m going to become the best damn cop on the force, and I’m going to make Red Ice a thing of the past, buddy. I won’t let anyone else go through the same thing we had to.”  
  


The silence stretched out into the night, and his tears tripped to the dirt below as a sad smile stretched across his face.  
  


“I promise.”

 

  
—  
It had been a long time since Hank had come this way, and it had been even longer since he had come here with someone else. He cast a sideways glance at the android in the passenger seat as he pulled up. Connor’s LED was spiraling yellow in thought.   
  


“Ya getting’ out or not, kid?”  
  


“Yes, of course, I apologize, Lieutenant.”  
  


He wasn’t entirely sure why he brought Connor here with him. Wasn’t entirely sure that Connor would even understand the significance of the action itself. But they were here, and there was no turning back from this now. The snow crunched under their feet as they walked through the rows of headstones. Connor’s LED swirled between yellow and red as they came up to a smaller, newer headstone. It read:

_In Loving Memory_  
Cole Anderson  
9/23/2029- 10/11/2035

Connor looked at Hank in shock, surprised his partner was sharing such a private moment with him. A sad smile passed over the lieutenant’s features as he rested a hand on the cold marble slab.   
  


“Hey there, buddy. I know, it’s been a while since I visited. I haven’t been doing so well, and I needed to get back on my feet. There’s someone I want you to meet. I think you two would’ve gotten along, if you’d ever met him. This is Connor. He’s my partner at work, and a really good friend of mine. He’s.. He’s helped me get better. It doesn’t hurt so much to think about you anymore. I was finally able to clean out your room. I still miss you. I always will. But thanks to this tin can.. I’m going to be okay. It’s gonna be a bit longer than I planned before I see you again, but.. That’s not such a bad thing.”  
  


Connor gently squeezed his partners shoulder in reassurance and paused. He crouched, so he was eye-level with the engraving on the stone and rested his hand over the words.  
  


“Hello, Cole. When I met your father, I was just.. Connor, the android sent by Cyberlife. I had one purpose. I was just a machine. But your dad made me see that I was so much more than that. Without him, I wouldn’t be here right now. I would’ve completed my mission, and then Cyberlife would’ve had me deactivated. I am alive because of your father. And I’m going to spend as long as I have repaying him for that. You don’t have to worry about him, Cole. I’m going to take good care of him.“   
  


**_"I promise.”_ **   
  


Hank would never intentionally lie to Cole. And never, in any universe, would he intentionally break a promise to his little boy.

  
And now, neither would Connor.


End file.
